In the 100 years between the mid-19th and mid-20th century, in direct response to the injustices of the colonial administration, a thread of rebellion came into being in India that was so strong, so tenacious and principled, that its chief protagonists will forever remain emblematic of courage and conscience. It...

If a person’s life could be summed up in a series of concise chapters, Albert Kahn’s would have two. The first involved earning a fortune, becoming highly educated, mingling with Europe’s intellectual elite, travelling extensively, and giving his money to a greater good. The second, much briefer chapter, sees him...

On June 29th, 1916 Roger Casement stood in the dock facing the jury who had just convicted him of treason. He was speaking (he said) not to those present in the courtroom, but to his fellow countrymen. With a balanced, passionate and water-tight argument he challenged the legitimacy of the...

Alexander von Humboldt cuts a lonely historical figure. In the years after his death he slipped rapidly out of public consciousness: from daring adventurer, pre-eminent natural historian, political progressive and all-round liberal celebrity – to yesterday’s man – largely ignored or overlooked in his native Germany and much of Europe....